Allied agents stage a daring raid on a castle where the Nazis are holding American brigadier general George Carnaby prisoner, but that's not all that's really going on.Allied agents stage a daring raid on a castle where the Nazis are holding American brigadier general George Carnaby prisoner, but that's not all that's really going on.Allied agents stage a daring raid on a castle where the Nazis are holding American brigadier general George Carnaby prisoner, but that's not all that's really going on.
- Awards
- 1 win & 3 nominations
- German Soldier
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaIn the scenes where Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood climb the steep fortress walls, Burton moves with ease, while Eastwood is clearly working hard physically. This was due to the fact that Burton, who was a hard-drinker, a chain smoker, and out-of-shape by that point, chose to ride a crane (made invisible by special effects) up the wall, whereas the health-conscious Eastwood was actually climbing the wall. Burton had already been diagnosed with bursitis, possibly aggravated by faulty treatment, arthritis and dermatitis.
- GoofsAlthough several stylish call signs are used in the radio transmissions ("Broadsword", "Danny Boy", "Father McCree"), most of the other operatives and Colonel Turner, as well as the team's location, are referred to by name in open transmission.
- Quotes
[Smith and Schaffer are observing the Castle of Eagles fortress, and a nearby military base]
Lt. Morris Schaffer: If I'm not mistaken, that's an army barracks over there.
Major John Smith: No mistake, Lieutenant. This the headquarters of the Wehrmacht Alpenkorps.
Lt. Morris Schaffer: Oh, swell. Do you have any other surprises I should know about?
Major John Smith: I thought you knew, Lieutenant. Why do you think we were chosen for his mission as if not to make social contact?
Lt. Morris Schaffer: You mean we're gonna go down there? Mingle with the German Army?
Major John Smith: Of course. Why do you think we're not dressed as German sailors?
Lt. Morris Schaffer: We'll be recognized as strangers.
Major John Smith: Training troops come and go all the time. What are six new faces among 600 new faces?
Lt. Morris Schaffer: Look, Major, this is primarily a British operation. I'm an American. I don't even know why the hell I'm here.
Major John Smith: Lieutenant, you're here because you're an American.
- Alternate versionsThe original release running 158 minutes had an Intermission and Entre'acte that have been skipped from many video releases (including the DVD release from Warner), resulting in a 155 minute version. This has induced a fade-out and fade-in of the music in the scenes preceding and following. The intermission was originally placed after Lt. Schaeffer sets the explosives in the interrogation room.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Loch Ness Horror (1982)
Film runtime is overlong , two hours and some but isn't boring and gets lots of amusement for the fast-movement . From the beginning until ending , the action movie is unstoppable. This is one of the best of several movies from novels by Alistair McLean about WW2 . The film gets a certain likeness to ¨Dirty Dozen¨ and ¨Kelly's heroes¨ and group of films that were made regarding to warlike adventures during the 1960-1970 years about special forces in dangerous missions . In the motion picture there are suspense , frenetic action , shootouts , thriller , rip-roaring and a little bit of violence . The final confrontation between the starring and enemies on the air cable funicular is breathtaking . The picture obtained too much success at the box office . Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood are top notch . Ron Goodwin musical score is gorgeous and Arthur Ibbetson cinematography is excellent .
Direction by Brian G Hutton is magnificent , he began with little and prestigious films as ¨Wild seed¨ and ¨The Pad¨. Thereafter, he veered off into big budgeted pictures with all star-cast , proving which he could handle big scale action , such as ¨Kelly's heroes¨ , ¨High road to China¨ and this one . The movie will appeal to second world war buffs and emotions lovers.
Rating: 7,5/10 . Better than average. Well worth watching
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Orlovsko gnijezdo
- Filming locations
- Burg Hohenwerfen, Burgstraße 2, 5450 Werfen, Austria(Schloss Adler, the mountaintop fortress)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $7,700,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $7,100,000
- Gross worldwide
- $7,100,435
- Runtime2 hours 38 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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